


Waiting on Promises (Forever and a Day)

by rixinaugust



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bisexual Percy Jackson, Gen, I'm Sorry, Team as Family, Why Did I Write This?, honestly I didn’t even edit it, no beta we die like men, questionable quality
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29165964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rixinaugust/pseuds/rixinaugust
Summary: Piper doesn’t have everything.Annabeth might be twenty, but she doesn’t want family any less.Percy might just have the thing to bring them together - a song from the days of the previous war, a song that had been left behind when Olympus prevailed. Luke might have promised family, but the seven can fulfill it.—I’m posting this to let y’all know that my other story, (CS, USA) is going on hiatus due to the fact that I have no time to write it. Sorry.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase & The Seven (Percy Jackson), Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Leo Valdez & The Seven, Luke Castellan & Annabeth Chase, Luke Castellan & Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & The Seven, Piper McLean & The Seven
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29





	Waiting on Promises (Forever and a Day)

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics from Forever and a Day by Forest Blakk. 
> 
> I apologize in advance for the lack of quality, this was written entirely in a post mental breakdown haze. 
> 
> Inspired by a number of posts, though I can’t remember which ones in particular, I’ll put them here if I figure it out.

**_Lately all my skies have gone grey_ **

**_And all the words I could say_ **

**_Just never seem to come out right_ **

“I want more,” Piper decides aloud. It’s a rare quiet moment and she’s far from alone, despite her place leaning over the railing of the Argo II. The rest of the seven are similarly scattered about the deck. It doesn’t make her any less lonely, and she swallows her gasp at the stab of emotion that runs through her. 

Leo frowns. “You have more than the rest of us.” 

She knows he doesn’t mean to sound bitter, but his words bite almost as much as the winds that tear through them. She shivers. 

“Didn’t you want something more?” Percy says, just loud enough for her to hear, though it’s directed towards Annabeth. She draws in a visible breath and lifts her head from Percy’s shoulder. 

“A long time ago.” 

“Hm,” Percy agrees, and returns to staring across the ocean. Annabeth’s hand finds its way to his hair, combing through the wild ends. It’s easy to forget, Piper thinks, that the two of them are four years older than her. 

Annabeth gives her a sad smile before turning her attention back to Percy. Her demeanor has been softened by Tartarus, formerly harsh edges and sharp words dulled by something Piper will never know. It’s something she wants to mourn, but shoves away because she doesn’t know Annabeth. Not really. “You wanted it too.” 

Percy’s answering nod is more than enough of an answer. It’s only when she turns her head to see if Leo has caught the interaction that she realized everyone is watching them - Jason from his perch on the mast, Frank and Hazel from the sidelines, and Leo from the helm. She can tell that they have noticed themselves being watched too, but it doesn’t bother them in the least. Annabeth’s hands are still moving, still brushing their way through his hair. Percy studies her in return, eyes flowing up and down her face. He speaks at last, his voice a touch quieter than before, “Did you bring the package from my cabin?”

“The package?” Annabeth echoes. “Maybe.” 

“From under my bed.” He frowns, a subtle dip of his head. “I should have remembered it earlier… though we can consider it your birthday present.” 

“Birthday present?” Piper can’t help but ask. 

Annabeth buries her face in his shoulder. “I’ll check your room,” she says after a moment, standing and heading below deck. 

The edges of Percy’s mouth twitch upward. “She’s cute when she’s shy,” he says instead of explaining. 

“Simp.” 

He gestures his hands outwards as if to say, ‘what can you do?’

Jason swings down from the mast, his feet landing softly on the wooden boards of the ship deck. He looks between Percy and Piper, eyebrows scrunched together. He looks adorable, Piper thinks, acutely aware of how much of a hypocrite that makes her for calling Percy a simp.

“What?” Jason asks as Annabeth returns from below deck.

“What?” She places a large, albeit sloppily wrapped package on the deck. Percy grins and scoots closer to her. 

“Happy birthday, wise girl.” 

Annabeth pinches her nose in her hands, hiding most of her face, but Piper swears she sees a blush creep into her cheeks. 

“Happy birthday, Annabeth!” The rest of the seven choruses at various volumes. 

“Open it!” Percy insists, eyes shimmering with excitement. Piper thinks back to her first impression of him, and something shifts - he’s not the type of hero that she imagined, but that doesn’t mean he’s not someone to be admired. At twenty, he’s changed more people’s lives than she can imagine herself ever making an impression on. 

They find themselves sitting in a circle on deck as Annabeth picks at the wrapping paper meticulously. Leo looks like he wants to remark on the fact that Percy isn’t hurrying her along, but they can all see how he’s looking at her as though she’s his whole world. 

Under the wrapping paper is a typical cardboard box, and she pulls apart one side of the box as carefully as she did the paper. Before Piper can see what’s inside - and she’s craning her neck as much is socially acceptable - Annabeth’s wiping away tears and grinning up at her boyfriend. 

“I thought… I thought you’d destroyed it.” 

Piper tries not to reel at the sight of the strongest woman she knows reduced to tears over an object, just as she tries not to feel like she’s intruding on a private moment. (From the looks she’s exchanging with the others, she’s not alone in either of those.) 

“I thought about it,” he admits. “But it was worth too much, and…” He shakes his head. “Well, what I did do might have been worse. Take a look.”

Annabeth carefully pulls a guitar case from the box, fingers fumbling with the case, almost scared to know what’s inside. “You hoped you were wrong.” She says, tone even. It’s a separate conversation from the one her body is in, Piper realizes. 

“I knew I wasn’t.” Percy’s words drip with regret. 

“But you kept it anyway.” She runs her fingers over the guitar. It’s not particularly beautiful; in fact, the stain on the wood is faded in several places. She hits a hand lightly against it in a passive rhythm, drumming echoing in the hollow of the instrument. “And you got the strings replaced.” 

“They were hardly usable,” Percy says easily, but Piper can tell that it’s not as simple as it sounds. “I didn’t know…” 

An engraving on the back of the guitar becomes visible as she turns it over in her hands. ‘Family,’ it reads. ‘You promised.’ 

Annabeth swallows.“I don’t know either.” She rubs her hand across her face, something that highlights the exhaustion sewn into her skin, “I love it and I hate it.”

“Like him,” Percy says, though it’s obvious he’s holding back other words.

Leo leans forward, gesturing for them to wait. “Okay, so I’m going to ignore the drama for a second, but Annabeth… you play guitar?”

She scofs. “Who do you take me to be? Of course I know how to play the guitar. Twelve years of experience don’t go to waste that easily.” She strumms a chord with a breath of hesitation. 

“Babe, you don’t have to…” 

Percy reaches out a hand and wipes a tear from her face. “I want to.” She smiles, and Piper sees how easily she wears her emotions around someone she fully trusts. It’s something she wishes she could have, but it doesn’t have the confidence to seek. 

The deck falls quiet as Annabeth begins strumming. Percy’s voice cuts in, singing smoother than they expected - a deep humming that evolves into words.

_ Lately all my skies have gone grey _

_ And all the words I could say  _

_ Just never seem to come out right _

Hazel exchanges a smile with Percy, and they’re swaying back and forth, back and forth. The music is far from the upbeat tunes Piper’s used to from the camp fireside, but it’s just as beautiful. 

_ Even roses they fight  _

_ Over that last bit of light _

_ Ever since the day  _

_ That you walked away _

She finds herself swaying along with them, sneaking glances at Jason to gage his reaction. They move - all seven of them - as one, Percy’s voice rising above where they sit, Annabeth’s chords ringing softly in their ears. 

_ Forever and a day _

_ Doesn’t seem too far away  _

_ If that means you’ll make your way  _

_ Back to me  _

It’s haunting, a soft sound filled with emotions she doesn’t think of coming from the older demigods. It seems as though they’ve always loved each other. This song says differently, a gentle keening that speaks of times they tried to forget. Annabeth’s voice joins Percy’s, weaving harmonies effortlessly.

_ Cause no matter how hard I try  _

_ When I close my eyes at night  _

_ You’re still the only  _

_ Dream I’ll ever dream of  _

Annabeth reaches a hand out to Jason, who grasps it hesitantly with an easy nod from Percy and a nervous glance at Piper. Percy scoots over to Hazel, pulling her into a side hug as he sings.

_ Just don’t keep me waiting  _

_ For too long  _

_ Cause I will keep waiting  _

_ Far too long  _

Percy lays a hand on Annabeth’s knee. She smiles down at him briefly, and he sits back as she raises her voice for the solo.

_ I read once in a book  _

_ That if timing ain’t right  _

_ She’ll leave you standing out on your own  _

With a start, Piper realizes that she’s leaning into Annabeth’s side. She goes to pull away, but there’s an arm around her, pinning her close. 

_ Lucky I don’t believe  _

_ In all those things that I read _

_ So I’ll keep waiting  _

_ For you to come back home _

Percy brushes a curl from Leo’s face, and Piper wonders if this is their way of taking some of the weight from the rest of the seven. They’re not nearly old enough to be her parents, but they’re almost old enough to be parents in their own right. 

His voice rises above Annabeth’s as she fades from the song.

_ Cause all I’ve got is  _

_ Time on my hands  _

_ And Time on my mind  _

_ Where heartbreak is but a passing memory _

She can’t help but notice that time means something more to them, more than just the meaning it has to her, but she doesn’t have time to ponder it because they’re both singing again. She’s almost forgotten how haunting the intertwined melodies sound in the short time of the solos.

_ And just like leaves on a tree _

_ As they fall for the breeze _

_ I hope one day  _

_ You’ll do the same  _

_ For me  _

It’s like she’s a child again, sitting in the arms of the mother she thought she’d never know. She finds herself drifting off, breathing the mingling scents of Annabeth’s shampoo and the ocean spray. Everyone’s cuddled into Percy or Annabeth - Jason’s hand holds hers across the older demigod’s lap. Leo’s leaning backwards so his head rests on Percy’s stomach while he holds Hazel and Frank on either side.

_ Just don’t keep me waiting  _

_ For too long  _

_ Cause I will keep waiting  _

_ Far too long _

They’re a family. (Just like promised.)

_ Don’t keep me waiting  _

_ For too long  _

_ Cause I will keep waiting _

_ Far too long  _

Something in the engraved words promises pain more than love, but Piper doesn’t want it any less. In this moment it’s almost tangible.

_ Lately all my skies have gone grey  _

_ And all the words I could say  _

_ Just never seem  _

_ To come out right _

Leo looks more at peace than she’s ever seen him, and not for the first time she wants to question the magic of music; the magic of these campfire songs, even when there’s no camp and no fire. But Frank isn’t regarding Leo with suspicion, Hazel is smiling lightly at Percy, Jason is no longer sitting stiffly as if there’s something he needs to prove, and Annabeth is breathing emotion and life into all of them. So she lets it wash over her, lets it swallow the pain in its path.

_ Even roses they fight  _

_ Over that last bit of light  _

_ Ever since the day  _

_ That you walked away _

The last of the chords slips into the now-darkened sky. Piper blinks the drowsiness from her eyes, but snuggles further into Annabeth. She’s afraid to let go, afraid they’ll go back to being less. (She wants more, but this is more, this the more she’s always wanted.) 

Percy speaks softly to Annabeth as if to not wake the others, though they’re far from asleep. “Remember…”

“It held us together when everything else was falling apart.” 

“Yeah,” his voice cracks. “Yeah.” 

“I still miss him sometimes, even after everything,” Annabeth admits. Percy doesn’t look as concerned as Piper thinks he should, more regretful than anything else. “Especially after everything.” 

“He was supposed to be no more than your brother, but no less either.” 

“We both messed that up, didn’t we,” she says, more of a blunt statement than a rhetorical question, though a question all the same.

He laughs, a bitter undertone creeping in but the sound lighthearted anyways. “Not my fault he was hot and charismatic.” He smiles again, this one reassuring and without a second emotion hiding. Piper has more questions than answers now, more so than before. 

“Hot, charismatic, a little bit of an asshole, and definitely a boy trying his best.” Annabeth agrees.

“Okay,” Leo interrupts, “I think I need to know who this guy is.” 

“Hm,” Annabeth sighs, shifting her weight. “Was, for starters. He’s not alive anymore. It’s hard to…”

Percy’s foot brushes Annabeth’s. “It’s not easy to define him without the context of the rest of our lives. He’s more than a villain or a hero, more than a sibling or a mentor, more than a bystander or a love interest, though he’s certainly all of those as well.” 

“All of those and more. I suppose… the story starts when I was seven years old,” Annabeth twirls a piece of her hair around her finger, and Piper realizes just how human the girl - the woman - in front of her is. Half-god is half-god, and she’s just as human as the rest of them. 

“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.” 

**_Even roses they fight_ **

**_Over that last bit of light_ **

**_Ever since the day_ **

**_That you walked away._ **

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of context in case it wasn’t clear: 
> 
> Luke taught Annabeth how to play the guitar, and his first one was in the Big House attic. Percy had the strings redone and an engraving put on it before he disappeared. 
> 
> Percy and Annabeth are both 20, while the rest of the crew is their canon ages. As a result, Piper isn’t as close with Annabeth as they were in canon.


End file.
